Joe Goddard - Gabriel (ft Valentina)

Description

Joe Goddard is surely one of the busiest men in the world of electronic music: writer andproducer behind the world-conquering Hot Chip, acclaimed solo artist, travelsome DJ,prolific remixer, one half of the emerging 2 Bears house duo and one of the foundingmembers of the Greco-Roman record label and party collective. So where does he findthe time to make an EP of electronica so sweet? In bed, that's where."wide awake and I can hear my heartbeat /hope it cradles me and rocks my bones to sleep ..."Fitting, then, that Goddard's first solo material in 18 months should open with a chorusof angels, before title track 'Gabriel' strides confidently into familiar territory of London'sclubland and its rich musical influences; this time Goddard choosing Gospel and Houseas his parameters. Whereas solo album 'Harvest Festival' might have erred on the side ofelectronica and experimentation, the 'Gabriel' EP -- the first taster of a solo album fornext year - punches direct, with the latest addition to the Greco-Roman collectiveValentina (who co-wrote 'Gabriel') lyrically laying down the gauntlet from the off:"Gabriel you've gone too far and you should hang your head in shame /for these wounds I cannot pay, you've gone too far /you broke my heart, you've gone too far"But for all this heartache Goddard almost immediately offers a calm reply with hissprawling love song 'All I Know', a familiar warm side coming across as he lullabies: "AllI know, I want you on my team, on my team, in my dreams" over loose percussion andspiraling electronica reminiscent of close friends Dan Snaith or Kieran Hebden.And if ever you needed a wake up call 'Jump' would be just that, a Theo Parrish-inspiredDJ tool engineered by underground house star Jesse Rose, which is quickly followed byan acid club version of 'Gabriel', a final burst of energy at the end of a long night outwith Greco-Roman.No sleep for the wicked, then.